Mendocino County strikes labor agreement with its managers

The county of Mendocino last week finalized a labor agreement with its Management Association bargaining group that extends for another year a 10-percent pay cut the employees agreed to take in 2010, the Mendocino County Executive Office announced Thursday.

On May 14, the county of Mendocino and the Mendocino County Management Association got approval from the Board of Supervisors for a memorandum of understanding that extends through September 2014.

Negotiations formally began on Jan. 24 of this year and included a series of six meetings. The Management Association and the county "essentially reached a tentative agreement in March, and have been working diligently since then on non-material contract language cleanup issues," according to the Executive Office.

The last MOU between the county and the Management Association was signed on Jan. 24, 2012. Management was among the first four bargaining units to take a 10-percent pay cut in October 2010 in response to the economic crisis facing the county.

The current MOU adopted by the Board of Supervisors last week largely extends the prior agreements, and the 10-percent reduction, through September 2014 with no enhancements to benefit or salary levels in the contract, according to the Executive Office.

County and employee share of health insurance costs (75 percent and 25 percent, respectively) are anticipated to increase over the term of the contract, pending results of cost containment activities. "County costs associated with market losses or bad assumptions (100% County) are also expected to rise over the term of the contract," the Executive Office stated.

"County revenue recovery often lags behind the general economic recovery of the state and nation," said Kyle Knopp, assistant county CEO. "At the same time, we have to make investments in critical infrastructure and reserve levels to secure sustainable operations. This MOU is a reflection of that reality."

Over half of the county's discretionary revenue is tied to property taxes. Those revenues are projected to remain largely static over the next three to five years, according to the Executive Office.